The Apprentice
by DippedDorito
Summary: The human and the demon were not unhappy in their cage. At least, that's what he was told. But how much truth was behind those words? And why did his master insist on their imprisonment? Dipper/Bill Cipher fluff. Cover art by elentori.


The human and the demon were not unhappy in their cage. At least, that's what Ford told the new apprentice, a fifteen year old male from town. And it was true, they never complained. Actually, they never did much of anything unless ordered to. Most of the time, they sat back to back in the human's cell, eyes closed, hands interlocked. Each of them had a ring on one of their hands; once the apprentice had asked Ford about this, but he had brushed the question away without a direct answer. The apprentice liked to think that perhaps they had been lovers in the past, perhaps still were. Ford had said the demon was particularly skilled in the mindscape, maybe they were communicating telepathically.

Ford didn't run many experiments on them anymore, so mostly they just sat in the same position, day after day. They wouldn't even move to eat unless ordered to. Sometimes Ford forgot this fact, so the apprentice took extra care to ensure they had eaten at least one meal a day, especially the human, who seemed to be getting rather thin. One day the apprentice asked Ford why they could not simply let the pair go free. Ford had explained that the two were far more dangerous than they appeared. This dormancy was probably supposed to lull them into a false sense of security. Ford had been tricked by them before; he would not be again.

The apprentice was not so certain; but trusted Ford, and didn't bring up the subject again. The years passed, as did people. One day, twenty years later, the apprentice was no longer the apprentice. He was now in charge of all the research Ford had ever accomplished, including the test subjects. Finally the student, now master, found himself standing in front of the human's cell, staring at the motionless pair, deep in thought. Neither of them looked a day older than when he had first seen them; that was indeed curious. But to be honest, he wasn't interested in seeing what made the two tick. That had been Ford's obsession. He wished to follow his own path, and that started with freeing the testsubjects.

So for the first time in 25 years, the door to the cell opened. At first neither of the inhabitants moved; but as the new master stepped inside, the demon opened his eyes. The master cleared his throat and stated, slightly uncomfortable under the demon's gaze, "Ford died a week ago. Heart attack. I'm letting you two go, the deal is over and fulfilled." He stood there in silence, slightly worried about the being's apathy. He was fully aware they might harbor resentment over their imprisonment; he couldonly hope they would not take revenge on him.

The demon looked at him for a moment, then stood up, letting go of the human's hand. The human slumped forward slightly, but did not otherwise respond. The demon glanced back in what appeared to be concern; then turned back to the master. "So, old Sixer finally kicked the bucket huh? Didn't he tell you we were dangerous, shouldn't be let out of our cell and all that?"

The master shrugged. "Not once during my time here have I seen you or him exhibit dangerous behavior; whatever happened between you and Ford has nothing to do with me. You're free to leave, do whatever you want. But I don't think world domination is in your plans."

"Heh. You've got that right at least." The demon knelt next to the human and whispered something in his ear. The human nodded slightly, and the demon wrapped an arm around him and pulled him to his feet. The human was obviously struggling; the master hadn't noticed exactly how thin he had become. He looked drained, exhausted; which was strange considering how little energy they had been expending.

"What's wrong with him?"

The demon replied without looking back, "He used too much magic trying to keep up a telepathic connection with me. It was the only thing that kept us both sane all these years. I tried to convince him several times to shut it down, conserve his strength, but he refused. Mental spells were never his specialty. I just… hope he recovers." Even as he finished speaking, what was left of the human's strength gave out, and he collapsed. The demon quickly lowered him to the ground, checking his pulse. "Dipper? Come on Dipper, please, you can't give up now. We're… we're so close…"

"Sorry… s-sorry…" The human gasped, trying to sit up again. "S-something came over me, I'm alright, r-really Bill…" He pulled himself forward, but promptly fell back into Bill's arms, breathing heavily.

"It's okay Dipper, I've got you. Get some rest." Bill picked Dipper up, bridal style, and began to carry him towards the exit.

"Wait." Bill stopped and turned, a weary expression on his face. The former apprentice stepped forward nervously. "Can't… Can't I do anything to help?"

Bill gave a short laugh. "Kid, you could've helped twenty years ago by letting us out of that cage. But you chose your path, just as we've chosen ours. Be glad we've decided revenge is not an option, or this place would already be rubble." He left, taking the injured human with him, and leaving the new master to whatever fate awaited him.

In the years to follow, the master didn't hear of the pair again. He was unsure whether the human had survived or not; he hoped he had. One day, while out collecting sediment samples for his latest research project, he found a lever hidden in the trunk of a tree. Upon pulling it, he found stairs leading downward into a bunker that had appeared to have been used quite recently. Dried and canned food lined tall steel shelves, and a radio and computer sat on a table near the door. A note with what looked like a hastily scribbled cipher wheel had been stuck to the computer monitor, as well as a paper reading, "don't forget to eat!" But the thing that really grabbed the man's attention was a beautiful mural along the back wall. It was incredibly intricate, no doubt the product of many days of work. The colors seemed to pop out of the wall, bringing the scenes depicted to life. And indeed, the pictures seemed to tell a story, of love and adventure and danger and pain. It occurred to the man then that whoever had been using this space may still be around; so he left, and never returned, choosing to stick close to the Mystery Shack and the adventures that lay in wait for him there. He was a dreamer if nothing else, and liked to think that both Dipper and Bill were still out there together, perhaps living in that bunker, and that they were happy. If nothing else, they deserved that.


End file.
